Bon jour.

A few years back I was a member of another writing forum - which will remain unnamed - but I became too busy to post on it regularly. As well as this, I had a disagreement with the admins not being able to delete any old work of mine (I won't be making the same mistake here!) and the forum in question, despite recently having moved to a new server, is a bit lacklustre and not very active, so I came here for a fresh start!

What caught my attention in particular were the weekly writing prompts which look like a great idea and I hope to have a go at some of these. I tend to enjoy reading and writing fantasy and a bit of sci-fi.

Just so you know from the start, you won't be able to delete old pieces here either. The decision to post is largely irrevokable, in part because other members' responses cannot be held jostage to your whims. Hopefully, understanding this from the outset will avoid any unpleasant misunderstandings.

Please read How to Use the Review Room before you post there. Posting your own writing for people to comment on should not be among the very first things you do here. It is worth taking the time to see what other people have done to improve their writing, and see if some of it applies to your writing as well. That is part of why we require members to review other members' work before posting their own for review. On the other hand, there are no restrictions, other than content and copyright rules, on showcasing your work in your member blog.

Also, be aware that posting a piece of writing on any public site, including this one, will greatly diminish your chances of selling it for publication. Removing the writing later does not alter that fact - once posted, it is irreversibly considered published. So do not post anything more than a small excerpt of any piece you are planning to submit for publication.

If you haven't explored the site yet, you should probably do so soon. Newcomers often gravitate to the Lounge, the Word Games, or the Review Room, but there is much more to be discovered if you poke in the corners. Remember to check out our FAQ as well, and be sure to read through the forum rules, too, to avoid any misunderstandings or hurt feelings. Respect for one another is our principal mandate.

As for the Review Room, new joiners often wonder why we do things a bit differently on this site than on other writing sites. We emphasize constructive critique as a vital writing skill. Training your eye by reviewing other people's work helps you improve your own writing even before you present it for others to see. Therefore, we ask members to review other people's writing before posting work of their own. The Review Room forums on this site, therefore, are true workshops, not just a bulletin board for displaying your work (and on that note, please only post each item for review in one Review Room forum). Also, please use the same thread for all revisions and additional excerpts from the same piece of writing. See this post, Why Write Reviews Before Posting My Work? for more information.

And while you're looking around, don't forget to check out our Weekly Short Story Contest and Weekly Poetry Contest. They actually run more than one week apiece, but any member may enter, and all members are urged to vote for their favorites.